Sharma, Gangadhar, and Chakravarthy will take charge of their roles from January 2018ETBrandEquity | August 28, 2017, 10:26 IST

Representative image.Tim Castree, Global CEO of MEC and CEO of NewCo has announced that Kartik Sharma has been named as managing director of the new media, content and technology agency in India and South Asia when it launches in January 2018. Sharma has been managing director of Maxus South Asia since 2014. Sharma will report to GroupM South Asia CEO, CVL Srinivas and Castree.

Castree commented: “We’re creating a brand new billion-dollar revenue media, content and technology agency, dubbed ‘NewCo’ for now. With such ambition, comes a need for brilliant talent to lead and inspire, and so today’s news is very exciting for us. Under Kartik's leadership, I am confident that we will have the right team in place to truly make NewCo a formidable future-facing agency in India and South Asia.”

On the other hand, Christian Juhl, global CEO of Essence, a global digital-first agency, has announced that T. Gangadhar, current managing director of MEC South Asia, will transition into the new role of chairman of India and managing director of North Asia, Essence. Gangadhar will report into Kyoko Matsushita, CEO of Essence APAC. He will continue to be based in Mumbai.

Anand Chakravarthy, who has served as managing partner at Maxus India since 2015, will be transitioning into the role of managing director of Essence India. Chakravarthy will report into both Gangadhar and Matsushita and will work closely with the regional leadership in his new role.

Both Gangadhar and Chakravarthy will assume their new roles by January 2018.

Juhl said: “India is such an important market for so many of our clients whose business challenges we work tirelessly to solve. Essence has built its credibility on being a data-centric agency that infuses technology and measurement across all media. We’re excited to expand our geographic footprint and apply our unique approach for our global clients looking for relevance in India. Gangadhar and Anand are experienced leaders who will help expand our presence.”